


Stockley

by Spazzo47



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 09:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12165798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzo47/pseuds/Spazzo47
Summary: September 15, 2017 Judge Timothy Wilson found former St. Louis police office Jason Stockley not guilty of first degree murder of Anthony Lamar Smith.  Expecting this to become a major news headline on a day that included 3 other major news stories, ACN assigned each newsroom a particular story to run point on.  The News Night producers now have to find ways to work past their biases about the case to cover the Stockley verdict in a fair way.





	Stockley

**Author's Note:**

> I live in a suburb of St. Louis. When Michael Brown was shot, I drove past Ferguson on my way to and from work. I have no concept of how much national media attention the Stockley verdict and protests have received, but here in the Lou, we heard the warnings of what would happen if there was a not guilty decision for a couple weeks before the announcement and the day that Judge Wilson released his verdict, we all had our eyes on Twitter and local news to tell us how bad it really was. Schools were let out early. Big businesses sent their employees home for their safety. We all remembered Ferguson and we were all a little nervous because of it.
> 
> It's no surprise to me that for about 3 years I've wanted to write this story, a story about the different perspectives that people have when a white cop is acquitted after shooting a black suspect. A little over a year ago I decided to set this story in a newsroom because the news media helps to craft how we think about the news. That's how I found the Newsroom, I read somewhere the Sorkin did a lot of research into how newsrooms work, so I figured I could borrow his research. Once I became a fan, I decided to write an epically long story where I would create the characters that would tell this story. I wrote the epic, but didn't find the characters and just couldn't figure out how to tell this story. Then this verdict came out and I waited for the worst to happen and all of a sudden I figured out how to do this story. 
> 
> My purpose in writing this isn't to take a stand on an issue that is deceptively complex. It's not to judge whether Stockley was justified in using deadly force or to take any position on Black Lives Matter and other groups that attempt to bring awareness to injustice and inequality. To me the bigger issue is that we've gotten to a point where we can't talk to each other and find common ground. Conversations quickly devolve into insults and name calling. It is correct and easy to say racism in all forms is wrong. But as I've read different people's thoughts and heard people's statements about Stockley and Michael Brown in particular there's so many misunderstandings and jumps in logic to the worst possible conclusions. My goal for a long time was to take a story like this and write it as a play that I would like to see used to start conversations. This is a starting point for that end goal and while I appreciate feedback, I know there's a lot of potential for strong feelings to be expressed. I'd ask for respectfulness in this regard.

Neal heard the news alert first and looked at the headline on his computer. “I’m sorry, can I call you back?... Sure.” As he hung up, he called Jim’s name as the executive producer walked by quickly.

“I’m on my way to a meeting with Mac. Whatever it is, make it quick.”

“The Jason Stockley verdict is in.”

Jim stopped and shook his eyes. “And he was found guilty, saving St Louis from another round of riots, right?” Neal shook his head. “Shit, they were supposed to wait until 4:00.”

“I guess they wanted to catch the protestors off guard.”

Jim considered his options. “Ok. I’ll call Mac and see if we need to reschedule. Can you find Kendra and tell her to get everyone together and start putting them in teams? I’m sure Mac will follow me down here when we’re done.”

“Got it chief.”

When the elevator doors opened, Jim found Mac on the other side. “Busy day, you have everyone in the meeting room?”

“Should be arriving now.”

“Will should be up in a second. He took Brandon to daycare.”

Jim and Mac walked toward the meeting room. “Should I assume he’ll be napping later in a command center you’ll be running?”

“Odds are good for that. What are you hearing from St. Louis?”

“Word is the police won’t get involved. I don’t trust Mayor Krewson.”

Mac thought about it. “You don’t have to trust the Mayor, Gov. Greitens has the National Guard on standby, because that won’t exacerbate the issue.”

Jim shook his head. “Michael Brown was shot 3 years ago, certainly they learned something from that.”

“Stockley was acquitted on all charges, they couldn’t have learned much.”

As they entered the conference room, they saw all the producers in place with Kendra, the senior producer, at the head of the table. Everyone in the group talked over each and Kendra moved out of her spot so Jim could take over the meeting.

“We’re going to have a packed show tonight. Mac is here because she’s preparing to coordinate coverage of all our major stories throughout the night.”

Mac took that as her cue to update the team. “Right now we have three named storms in the Atlantic, a bombing in London, Kim Jong-un testing weapons which means we’re waiting for an idiot tweet from the White House, and now St. Louis is on the brink of another month of protests after another cop evaded conviction. As a network we’re going to divide and conquer. Different shows will take point on a story and feed the other shows what they need for coverage. St Louis needs a legal mind, so you get that one.”

Martin smiled, “At least we don’t have to spend another weekend hearing Will complain about covering the weather!”

Mac smiled. “Tell me about it. There were no better words in my house than Jose will not make landfall.”

Martin teased her back, “There’s still two other systems threatening and you never know how The Weather Channel is going to blow this up.”

Mac smiled, “This is a decree from your president, and not the insane one in the White House, unless lives are on the line, we will not cover the weather. And if we have to cover a hurricane, the only person that will stand outside in it is Jane Barrow.”

Several staff members laughed. Jim looked at Kendra and Gary who didn’t laugh and continued the meeting. “You have the afternoon guys covering North Korea and the UN, right?”

“Right, but we’re not expecting a lot of movement there, not until after Trump’s address to the UN. Damn it I never wanted to say those words together. Let’s see if we can help them out by updating some of last night’s packages. Should be relatively easy to push out.”

“Are you talking about our kid again? Because that’s not how I remember it.” Will entered the conference room with a twinkle in his eye while he looked at his wife

“As I was telling them ACN Global will take care of the London bombings and we need this group to run point on the Stockley verdict. Judge Wilson’s verdict is all over the internet already and I’m sure in 120 characters or less it’s being fully represented.”

Will was caught by surprise, and he didn’t like being caught by surprise. “They weren’t going to announce the verdict until 4 Eastern.”

Gary spit out. “They wanted to catch the protestors flat footed so that no one will notice the injustice.”

Will asked, “When did all this happen?”

“Before this meeting started. That’s why you shouldn’t come to meetings late.”

Will shot his wife a look, “I was taking our son to daycare. You remember him, cute kid, spends a lot of time with us.”

“You were still late.”

Kendra looked at the couple. “Can we get back on task? This is about the time that we start debating how to handle race in America, isn’t it? ”

Mac nodded her head, “You’re right, I’m sorry. Go ahead Jim.”

“What do we actually know right now?”

Martin answered first, “We know that Anthony Smith was a heroin dealer who led the police on a high speed chase until they bumped him, forcing Smith to stop.”

Gary responded, “And I guess that and being a black man makes it okay for an officer to kill him and plant a weapon in his car.”

Kendra yelled at the men, “Martin, Gary. That’s enough.” She looked back at Jim. “I think we all know the basics of the case and the video from the Church’s Chicken parking lot where the chase began.”

“I think it’s significant that he almost ran over the police officer.” Mac and Jim immediately glared at Martin.

Kendra continued, “and we have the dash cam where he said, ‘We’re killing this motherfucker. You know that right.’ And we know that Stockley planted a gun in the car.”

Will chimed in, “Allegedly. That’s the issue this whole case rested on, did he plant the gun? If the judge didn’t believe he did, that’s the only reason he would have acquitted.”

“The only DNA was the cop’s! How can the gun come from anywhere else?”

Will looked directly at Gary, “The only reason a defendant would choose a bench trial is because of the optics. Justice is supposed to be blind, but a jury will be swayed by how things look. Judge Wilson has 30 years experience on the bench, before we make any assumptions we have to consider what he said.”

Gary grumbled under his breath, “What he said was it’s okay to kill a black man if you have a badge.”

Jim tried to take control of the meeting again. “Okay, what else do we have?”

Neal answered, “We probably have some time before protesters mobilize, but Twitter is going to light up soon.”

Will jumped in, “I have to put my foot down, I’m not reading tweets on the air. We’re not going to lower ourselves to reading all the infantile name calling and unsubstantiated accusations that happen there.”

Neal got animated, “But isn’t that the story? We can tear apart the verdict and show the same timelines that every else will. But the story is how people are reacting. What they want to see done. That’s not going to be found in the judge’s opus.”

Martin asked, “Does anyone here have the slightest idea what Black Lives Matter hopes to accomplish with these protests that typically turn into riots?”

All eyes turned to Kendra. She rolled her eyes and said, “They would benefit from having some goals. But characterizing them as a violent group or lumping them in with the agitators that take over after dark is unfair.”

Gary added, “They’re there to remind people that this country hasn’t made the strides we think. Racism is so ingrained in the system that we need to complete reform it.”

Martin asked, “And what would that reform look like? Does reforming the justice system mean that cops can’t shoot until they get shot? Do we have to keep being told how white people are holding back African Americans?”

“Are you really arguing that there is no racism in the United States?”

Mac shot a look at Jim signaling that he needed to get the meeting back on track. “Okay, Neal, keep your eye on Twitter and let us know if things start heating up on the ground. You can use Twitter to see if there’s a story about why they are marching, but you better impress me. Maggie was planning to spend the weekend in St. Louis, Jenna, can you see if we can get her there early? Martin and Gary, you take the verdict. I want you to find common ground on what he said.”

“You mean you want to feel comfortable with us whitesplaining on the air by having a token black guy work with a white guy on that angle.”

“No, I want two journalists to go through the verdict and put all those little 5 word excepts everyone will be throwing out into a context. If you can’t handle it, Gary, I can put someone else on it.”

“Show me where it is Neal.”

“Tess, I need you to get me some legal analysts and maybe some former cops who can help us answer questions.”

“On it.”

“OK, if everyone has their assignments, get started. We’ll have another meeting in 2 hours if nothing big breaks before then.”

As everyone stood up, Kendra said, “Gary, stay here a minute.”

Jim looked at Kendra wondering if he should stay for the conversation. Mac signaled him out and he followed her lead. Once the door closed, Kendra took a seat across from Gary. “You can’t lose your cool like that, you know that.”

“Did you hear the shit he was saying to me?”

“Yeah, I did and if Jim doesn’t deal with Martin, I will. But I’m talking to you right now. When we’re out there being journalists we need to be unbiased so we can report facts. If you’re shooting off your mouth during meetings not only do you compromise your integrity and the integrity of the whole program, you make us all look bad.”

“Well I’m sorry I can’t stay quiet when cops are allowed to kill us in the street. But I won’t and I won’t help to spread the idea that it’s justified, that my life is worth less than Jim or Martin’s because of the amount of pigment in my skin.”

“You will if that’s what the facts say or I’ll send you down to help cover the hurricanes. I don’t like this any better than you. I don’t like covering these stories, but we will do it with integrity. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll be good little nigger and go help whitesplain why this was a justified killing.” Gary stood up and walked out of the conference room.

When Gary was clear of the room, Jim walked in and said, “thank you for taking care of that. I’m going to talk to Martin.”

“You need to call that out when it’s happening and not expect the other black person in the room to fix your cowardice.” Kendra stood up and walked out of the room leaving Jim in the room alone. He went to Martin’s desk and the two men went to his office for Martin’s talk.

Will walked Mac to the elevator. “You know the rules. If I don’t get to see you because we’re both working on big stories, we have lunch together.”

Mac rolled her eyes. She didn’t have time for this. She’ll have EPs and Managing Editors in and out of her office all day. They’ll get some time over the weekend. “Managing editors get to come into the command center, you know that.”

“And news division presidents get hungry in the middle of the day.”

He wasn’t wrong, just annoying. “You can get us takeout and we’ll eat it in the conference room.”

“I’ll get us takeout and we’ll eat lunch in my office and have dessert in my bathroom.” Will wiggled his eyebrows at the plan.

All these years and she still finds him adorable when he’s like this. She knows better than to call him that to his face, but he is adorable. “That close to a room full of reporters?”

“Mac, we’re married. We have a kid. They have some idea that their bosses have sex with each other. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

Mac didn’t have a comeback for that. “Get the takeout and text me. I’ll let you know where we’re eating.”

As the elevator opened and Mac entered it, Will said, “You’re not eating in the fucking command center.”

\----------

Will went to his office and immediately started reading the verdict. Outside his door, Martin and Gary sat in desks across from each other doing the same.

Martin looked up from his computer. “How much deliberation time do you think is necessary for a murder charge to stick?”

“What?”

“Page 18. It says that there are three elements to a murder conviction. The person must have knowingly, caused the death of another person, after deliberation upon the matter. We know he said he was going to kill Smith. So how long do you think he has to decide for it to be murder? Is that minutes or seconds or days?”

“Well since Stockley got off, I guess it’s closer to days.”

Martin took a breath. “I didn’t let the guy off. We’re supposed to be looking through this so that we can find a way to explain the verdict.”

“We can’t explain it. He took out his gun and shot a man 5 times from 6 inches away after saying he was going to kill the motherfucker. How the fuck do we explain that?”

“According to the judge’s understanding of the facts, you’re missing a few steps.”

“Which steps. That he was a heroine dealer? Does that make it alright to kill a man in cold blood?”

“No, it doesn’t. But does knowing that he rammed into 2 cars when he tried to get away help to explain why the cop may have been a little nervous?” Gary clenched his jaw and shook his head. “We’re supposed to be working on this together.”

“Maybe I don’t want to work on this with you.”

Slowly other News Night staff started noticing Gary and Martin’s argument. Jim went to the men. Immediately Martin said, “I wasn’t instigating. I asked him a legitimate question. How long does a person have to deliberate before it rises to the level of 1st degree murder?”

Tess jumped into the conversation. “It didn’t have to be 1st degree. In Missouri the judge had all other lesser charges available to him.”

“So he could have put that asshole in jail for something.”

Martin exhaled and shook his head. “Is that what you really want? A person to be put in jail to make a statement?”

“You don’t think that after the protests today there won’t be people in prison to make a statement? Gov. Greitens ran on making Missouri a police state.”

“They won’t make an arrest without cause.”

“They kill people without cause.”

“He led them on a 90 MPH chase in the middle of traffic and he reached for a gun. That’s cause to shoot.”

By this time Gary and Martin were standing nose to nose. Jim wedged himself between the men and said, “Come on Gary, let’s go for a walk.”

Martin sat back at his desk and continued reading. The way the judge wrote the verdict, it made sense. There were places that the judge had to fill in some blanks, but overall it made sense. He got up and found Kendra by the copier.

“Have you read the verdict?”

“Yes I have.”

Martin could barely keep still as he tried to puzzle this out. “What am I missing? Everything he wrote sounds reasonable. Even the fiance’s lawyer said that it was a well-considered verdict. What am I missing?”

Kendra took a second to decide what to say. “Are you asking me as your boss or as a black woman?”

Martin put his hands to his head as if he was going to pull out his hair. “Both? I don’t know. When I grew up, I was told there was no difference between black people and white people. We were supposed to be colorblind. I thought all this racist shit was settled except for a few fringe members of society who didn’t matter. So when I ask that, I don’t see a distinction. You’re Kendra.”

“Being Kendra means that I’m a black woman who learned a long time ago to be afraid of the police, that I have to keep my hands on the steering wheel anytime I get pulled over so that they are in full view, that it’s normal to be followed in a store because the workers think I may steal something. And most importantly I learned that my life means less than yours because of something I can’t change about me.”

Martin shrugged his shoulders in frustration and walked away. He turned around a second later and said, “You know that it’s not me that made you feel that way. I’m sorry for the people who did, but it wasn’t me.”

As he left the copy room, Tess walked toward Martin. “It is an injustice. You know that don’t you?”

“Actually I don’t. The facts –“

“According to that judge who’s part of a legal system that has institutional racism at the heart of it.”

Martin threw his hands in the air. “Whose facts are we supposed to believe then? An eyewitness convinced the world the Michael Brown got on his knees, put his hands in the air and that his final words were ‘don’t shoot’. And then we got autopsy reports and we got witnesses who recanted that narrative. We had evidence and protestors still chant ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ at every protest everywhere in the United States. Even if you think this guy planted a gun, or if you’re the only person in the world who refutes his life as a heroin dealer, we have him on video hitting cars and even a cop to get away. Is this the guy that should be made a martyr?”

“It’s not about Anthony Lamar Smith.”

“Then who the fuck are they marching for?”

Tess took Martin’s hand. “It’s the movement. He’s symbolic of a cry for justice in an unjust world. He’s another man in the same line as Freddie Grey, Travon Martin, Philandro Castile, Tamir Rice. It’s about black men being 6 times as likely to be in jail than white men. It’s about racism. No one cares about the details of this particular case.”

“No one cares about this case? I care about this case! This is the case they are taking a stand on. Does anyone on that side care about truth and justice?”

“Why would they care if they don’t feel like they get any?”

Jim and Gary stayed silent on the elevator ride to the ACN lobby. Once they got outside, Jim looked at the sign on their building. “Sometimes I’m still shocked that it says ACN. Those couple years that Pruitt owned us, I thought he was going to change the name of the network as well as everything else. When Mac got him to hate the news division enough to sell it, I hoped Mark Zuckerberg would buy us out and call us ZCN. That’s when Mac explained that Leona put it in the contract that the name wouldn’t be changed.”

Jim took them to a street vendor and ordered each a gyro and then guided them to a bench in Central Park. Once they were seated, Jim started again. “I’ve always loved sitting here and watching the people. There’s no place like New York, you know?”

“I guess.”

“I grew up in Atlanta. Have you ever been to Atlanta?”

Gary looked at him stone eyed. “Are you about to lecture me and tell me how what I feel doesn’t matter because I have to cover the news in an impartial way?”

“No. I’m going to tell you about growing up in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood of Atlanta. When you look it up as far as livability, it gets F’s in crime, employment and housing. IT only fairs a little better in education with a D+. 4% of the population was white. And just over that graduated from high school. I saw what was happening down there. More drug deals than I can count, shootings, questionable police activity. It happened daily.”

“So you know how I feel. You saw some of your friends die and that makes you an expert on what it feels like to be a black man.”

“No, I can’t tell you how to feel. I spent my life trying to ignore it. Trying to ignore the violence and the poverty. Ignoring the hopelessness that everyone around me felt. Trying to ignore the ways I was treated different because I thought that maybe I could get out. I could be like my dad and go to the military for the GI Bill, go to college and do something with my life. That was my dream, to get out.”

Gary had a hard holding in his anger. “I’m sorry man, I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me.”

"I'm saying I lived my life being a coward. My father was a Baptist minister who thought he could save the world by going into the inner city, and I hated him for it. I thought I was better than the kids I grew up with, so I looked the other way. I tried not to notice, I tried to justify what I saw happening. I blamed my parents for a horrible childhood and the neighborhood for their circumstances. And I got out as soon as I could. I went to a hellhole that made me rethink some of my arrogance. I saw oppression over there and I thought it couldn’t be that bad here. Our military and police don't treat us like the enemy. And then one day I came back and saw a man in a car calling a doctor a nigger. The man in the car laughed while he did it. There were a few of us walking around, not sure what to do. And so we didn't do anything. We kept walking. And I'm ashamed of that. And I'm ashamed that as a country we allow that to happen and we allow injustices to happen."

Gary kept looking straight ahead. "I'm not qualified to absolve you of your sins. Maybe your father can do that."

"I don't expect absolution. I want you to know that you're not alone in there. I don't like what I see in the news. I don't like that these protests have to happen at all. But the way that we change the world is to tell the truth to our audience. And if the truth doesn't fit a narrative that we want it to, we still have to tell it."

"He gunned down a black man and he gets to walk away like nothing happened. And you want me to tell the world that it was justified. Just like all those other murders. What makes them justified? A judge who wants to believe in the system he serves? A grand jury that can be swayed by how a prosecutor or defense attorney paints a picture? It happens over and over and over and no one cares. And I'm supposed to pretend that it's not happening because we have to tell the truth as one person sees it."

"You get to influence how this story is told." Jim stopped and thought for a second. "If you need to take the rest of the day off to go to St Louis and protest, go. But if you want to spend that energy framing this story and telling it through your eyes, stay here and help us." Jim stood up and walked back to the office while Gary stayed on the bench.

\----------------------

The producers gathered in the conference room again. Jim looked for Gary in the group and felt disappointed that he apparently went to St. Louis. "Will is up in the command center getting a brief on London. You'll all be happy to know that Mac's family was nowhere around the subway when it was attacked. You probably won't be as excited as Jane Barrow pretended to be." That elicited a laugh from the group. "There's nothing new going on in North Korea, but since we're talking about nukes and, as Mac says, a pissing contest between two mentally disturbed individuals, let's plan on that taking the A block. Jenna, start putting together a wish list of people to talk to about this."

"Got it."

"London will be up next. We're going to mostly throw that to ACN International and supplement with a history of terror attacks. I'll pull something together."

Tess asked, "Are we going to cover Trump's tweet?"

"Fuck, he didn't did he?"

Kendra answered. "Couldn't help it. Insinuated that the Scotland Yard didn't do their jobs."

"Let me look at it and I'll talk to Will. C block belongs to the ACN Hurricane Center. They apparently have a cool new graphic program they want to show off. And remember any time we refer to them we have to say ACN so no one will mistake us for the real Hurricane Center."

Martin said, "Won't they recognize that by us not sending anyone out in the wind?"

Tess added, "Except Jane. Mac was pretty clear about that."

"Just make sure we have the ACN. And now the million dollar question, where are we on Stockley?"

Martin looked guilty. "I went through the verdict and outlined questions that I think people will have about what the judge found. I thought we could get a legal expert on to answer those questions. Do you know where Gary went? I wanted his input. I've also started outlining basic facts of the decision for Will's script."

Jim took a deep breath. "Will’s going to write his own script. He's upstairs with the other EPs and managing editors and he'll get them the basics. I wouldn't count on Gary being here, so get your questions to Kendra to look over." Kendra rolled her eyes. Jim fought back his instinct to defend himself and continued. "What else can we do with this? Neal, how's your piece going?"

"The story on Twitter is about heartbreak and injustice. That's what is bringing people out."

Martin cautiously said, "I may be alone in this, but is anybody at all concerned about Stockley in this? He shot a man and it ended his career. There's an outcry for more equality, but there's another movement that's pro-police. Should we cover that angle? Police are afraid to do their jobs. Police living with the consequences of taking a shot, justified or not."

"Do you really think it's the time for that story?" Kendra asked. "Let's let some of these fresh wounds heal a little."

Martin jumped up. "What wounds? He was a heroine dealer. And no one would have given a fuck about him if he was white. No one would hold a protest in his honor if a cop killed a white heroine dealer, why this man? "

Jim looked at Kendra and said, "Martin, let's talk after this meeting. Neal, can you put a package together with tweets? I don't want Will up there reading tweets and you know he won't do it."

"I think I can get something together. I can reach out and see if some of them would be willing to upload videos answering why they're out there."

Tess asked, “Should Maggie interview people live and ask that”

Jim thought about the idea. "That’s one way to do it, but having something pre-made may free her up to give updates. Let's see how the protests are shaping up, but Neal, start reaching out. What do we know about the protests so far?"

Neal answered, "Very peaceful. There were reports of cops on bicycles stopping the protestors from going onto one of the interstate ramps. The cops said no and the protestors turned away."

Martin asked, "You mean no one is calling to burn the mother down this time?"

Jim looked at Martin and said, "Martin in the hall. Kendra, finish this meeting." The group watched as the two men walked out. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"You mean why am I not as super sensitive about everyone's feelings? Have you even read the verdict? He wasn't a good guy and the cop was justified. Why isn't that important? Why are we coddling poor Gary? Because he's offended that this went through the system and this is what justice looks like?"

"You're in the minority of your peers and you deserve to be heard. But these outbursts are uncalled for."

"What am I saying that's wrong? Eric Holder and the Obama administration didn't even want to pursue this case.   Everyone wants me to feel sorry for this guy and I don't know why. I don't know why I have to live with the racist tag because I think it's okay to shoot a heroine dealer who led the police on a high speed chase in the middle of traffic and was likely reaching for a gun."

Jim took a breath to calm himself. "No one is calling you a racist, Martin."

"I guess you haven't been on Twitter recently. Apparently if you are white and not protesting, not only are you a racist, but now you're also violent. That's what they're chanting, 'White silence is violence'.” Martin and took a breath to think about what he wanted to say. “Maybe it's naïve, but I was surprised when I saw the outcry after Michael Brown died. I knew there were extremists, but I thought they were the exception. To watch these protests, you think they're the rule. I don't believe they are, but I'm just a white guy, what do I know?"

Jim calmly said, “Tonight we’re going to say what the judge found and explain the verdict. Then we’re going to pivot to the protesters and ask them why they’re out there. We do the news. We’re giving both sides their time and letting the audience decide what they believe. That’s our responsibility.”

“Our responsibility is to give facts and figures to one side and show the other side being emotionally manipulative. Isn’t that stacking the deck a little?”

“In my experience there will be those swayed by emotion, but there will also be those who will pay more attention to facts. Let’s go back in.”

Just as Jim and Martin began to walk back to the conference room, the team came out. Jim caught Kendra by the arm and signaled her to follow him back to the conference room. “I didn’t ask Martin to work with you on the questions because you’re black. I asked him to work with you because you’re the senior producer and Gary apparently went to St. Louis to protest.”

“He did what?”

“I gave him a choice to either protest or come back to the newsroom and help frame how we tell this story. I thought he’d come back here.”

“Maybe he’ll find Maggie and they’ll came up with some angle besides, ‘it looks like something is happening, but I can’t tell what it is!’”

Jim laughed, “Can you imagine Will’s reaction if she says that on our air?” The two took a second to laugh, and for the first time today neither felt the tension that’s permeated everything around them. “Anything happen after I left that I should know about?”

Kendra shook her head. “No. How’s Martin?”

Jim considered how to answer the question. “Confused. No pun intended, but this whole issue isn’t as simple as black and white.”

“Should I talk to him?”

“And say what? His best friend stormed out of here and the protesters are insinuating that anyone who isn’t out there with them must be racist. I don’t even know how to talk to him.”

Kendra took some to process her thoughts. “Maybe it starts with a conversation, an awkward, scary conversation where two people who disagree about an issue but are friends otherwise talk _to_ each other instead of _at_ each other.”

Jim smirked, “Have you been talking to Tess?” When Kendra gave him a confused look he said, “I thought she was on the ‘All You Need Is Love’ side of this. You know, the people who seem to think that all the world’s problems will just go away if we start to love and be nice to each other.”

“I thought her position was usually ‘Love the One You’re With’.”

“Yeah, that too.”

Jim and Kendra smiled. Kendra finally said, “I don’t think we’re going to find a solution to institutional racism in the course of a conversation, but I think it’s a start.”

“You don’t need my permission to talk to the staff. But you have my respect for trying.” Jim patted her on the shoulder and left.

Kendra looked at the monitor in the conference to see what was happening with the protest. Protesters seemed to be walking around in circles in downtown St. Louis yelling, “No justice, no peace.” A few carried a sign declaring that the street was closed because of injustice. Kendra turned off the TV and went to Martin’s desk.

“Can you come with me?”

Martin looked defeated as he stood up and walked to a small meeting room with her. “Look, I’m sorry about my outburst. It was unprofessional.”

“I appreciate that, but it’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” Kendra looked at Martin for several long moments, not sure what to say. “When you’re black, you learn from a very young age that the world is out to get you. My mother had to teach my brothers and me what to do and not do when we got pulled over by a cop because of what they could do to us. I’m positive that Philandro Castile is every black person’s biggest fear. I’ve been asked what I was doing at a Neiman Marcus. My mom made a scene at a store and got someone fired for telling me that I looked like I was going to steal something and then asked me to leave. You know me, I’m not an angry person, and I would never accept violence or ignorance as an answer, but I know what it means when Grandmaster Flash says, ‘Don’t push me cause I’m close to the edge.’ I don’t know how to feel anything but what I do right now about this case. And my best guess is it’s how Gary feels too. You have the freedom to look at facts and judge them for as far as they go. I can’t. I have a nagging doubt in my head that he did plant the gun and that the cop knew his life was never in danger.”

“When I was growing up, I learned that we were supposed to be color blind. That a long time ago white people owned black people as slaves and that was wrong because we’re all equal. And I thought that’s how everyone, except some people on the fringes, thought. Seeing these reports, these incidents, I know that there’s something wrong. But I don’t know how to fix it. I can’t protest in the name of a person who by all accounts was a drug dealer. And I can’t feel bad that he died when I think the cop was justified in shooting. It doesn’t mean that I don’t care about injustice and inequality. But I feel like I’m being cast as a racist because… maybe because I want the cops to be the good guys. I want them to be heroes. I know they can’t all be anything – good, bad, racist, heroic – but I want to believe in good and I just don’t see much of it.”

“I want to see that too, Martin.”

“So how do we get there?”

Kendra thought for a second. “Maybe we never will. This isn’t a new fight, maybe we’ll always have to fight.”

“I don’t believe that. I believe that there’s good in people. That people want to do and see good. It’s in our nature. There are exceptions, but the ones who want to see good prevail outnumber the rest by a lot.”

Before Kendra could answer, Jenna knocked on the door and let herself in. “Martin, Will wants to see your list of questions.”

“Just a second, I need to get them to Kendra first.”

“Give them to him, I trust you.” Martin looked at her, wanting to finish their discussion. “Go ahead. Will needs you.” Reluctantly, Martin left the meeting room.

\-------------------

The team gathered in the conference room for the final rundown meeting. Will gave his blessing on the prep work for the nukes, London Bombing and hurricane coverage, though he still didn’t want to cover the weather at all. As they began to discuss the Stockley verdict, the conference room door opened and Gary entered.

“I’m sorry I ditched you. I thought I needed to march for an end to injustice, but I realized that our job is to fight for that.”

As Gary sat down, Jim said, “Thanks for that. Will you’re going to start with the verdict itself. You’ve got the questions from the verdict, right?” Will nodded his head. “Good, then you’re going to pivot to Neal’s piece on why people are protesting.”

“Neal put a package together?” Will gave him a smile like a proud papa.

“It’s his first and it is a first rate job.” The group applauded while Neal blushed. “Really good work, Neal. Then we’ll go to Maggie for an update on what’s happening.”

“And she knows that I will cut her off and put on a fucking cat video if she says any inane statement that lets the audience know that we don’t know what’s happening?”

“I’ve been on the phone with her myself giving her other ways to fill airtime.”

Tess said, “Sure, that’s what you’ve been talking to her about.”

Jim rolled his eyes at her. “Sounds like we’re all set. Will Mac be pacing nervously around me all show long?”

“She promised she wouldn’t, but she has to pick up Brandon, which means she’s going to bring him down to my office.”

Jim nodded his head, “And it would be rude for her not to poke her head in for a minute.”

Kendra picked it up from there. “And then she’ll discover that your tie isn’t straight enough and tell Jim to have you fix it during the next break.”

Tess added, “At which point the audio won’t be mixed right, so she’ll need to help troubleshoot that.”

Neal said, “Which of course means that now she has a headset on and just has to give you a shopping list that you can’t take down because you’re on the air.”

“I have a near eidetic memory. I could remember if I want to.”

Jim answered, “Don’t tell her that.”

“Do I look like I want to get a list of chores every night during the B block?”

The group laughed, something they needed after the day they had.

\--------------

“That’s News Night for September 15, 2017. I’m Will McAvoy, Terry Smith is up next. Good night.”

The staff clapped for another good show. Jim told the control room crew as well as Martin and Neal who were in to watch their segments, that he’d get the first round of drinks. As they left, Martin went to his desk and saw Gary sitting at his.

“Jim’s getting the first round. You coming?”

Gary looked lost in thought as he scrolled through the Twitter feed and watched as the protests in St Louis went from peaceful to violent in short waves and bursts. “I don’t think so. I need to stay here and monitor what’s happening.”

“We don’t have any control over what a police officer does when he sees a black man. But we can go out and enjoy our friends.”

“I’m going to pass.” Martin shook his head and walked over to Hang Chew’s.

\-------------------

Mac always feels a little awkward stepping into Jim’s control room because it was hers, but watching Elliot’s show from control never bothered her. After Elliot wrapped, Mac went to Will’s office, stopping to check on Gary who seemed intensely watching whatever he had on. When she made it to her husband’s office she found Will sitting on the couch watching baseball while Brandon’s head lay on his lap. Mac stared at the men in her life until Will noticed her.

“Were you planning to come in?”

Mac entered and walked to the couch. “I just wanted to freeze that moment of innocence for as long as I can.”

“I can guarantee I have never been completely the picture of innocence.”

“Not you, you moron. Him.”

“Oh,” Will feigned disappointment.

“He doesn’t understand race or the differences in people. He loves Gary and Kendra as much as Don, Sloane and Elliot.”

“Actually I think he loves Elliot more. He’s really impressed by how tall he is.” When Will saw her look, he said. “I know what you mean. But sometime we will have to tell him about things like the Stockley case.”

“How does that talk go?”

“I don’t know. I hope that when he’s old enough to understand, I’ll be dead and you’ll have to deal with it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I stole a lot of ideas from a lot of places, but I really should call out Kendra's short monolog towards the end which to took from a friend's Facebook post after Michael Brown died. She shared what it meant to her to be a black woman and I remember reading it the first time and wanting to cry (I was at work, I couldn't). The responses she got were appalling to the point where she shut down her comments.


End file.
